Will Booker & Atley Kitchings

Between military careers that carried them around the world and law careers that have allowed them to witness history and important legal cases, Will Booker and Atley Kitchings offer years of service and insight to younger attorneys at Wallace, Jordan, Ratliff & Brandt, LLC, where they are distinguished senior members. They met in 1957 while working for a telephone company in Atlanta and have remained friends since. In 1955 and 1956, Kitchings also served as acting U.S. district attorney for the northern district of Alabama. During a recent conversation with Birmingham magazine, they reflected on their years of service and how the world has changed during the course of their careers.

Will Booker: I retired at age 65 and went with a law firm here, and then Atley and I ended up at this one, which we thoroughly enjoy. We are by far the oldest people here, but it's the type of law firm we enjoy, and the people are very dedicated to being honest and fair and reasonable for other people. We enjoy our time with them, and I think they enjoy our time with them.

Atley Kitchings [after listening to Booker introduce himself]: After that, what do I say? He forgot to say the most important thing: He was in the Battle of the Bulge for 84 days in World War II. He is a war hero as well as a great lawyer.

WB: No, I'm not. I'm not a hero about anything.

AK: Anyone who has fought in the Battle of the Bulge is justified to be a hero.

WB: My unit was not exactly involved in what was called the Battle of the Bulge. Our job was to protect the flanks of General Patton's area, and the Germans took off after us, too. We were sort of on the fringe. I'm just glad it's over.

AK: Both of us, because of our backgrounds and experiences as just stated, have seen a lot of law firms come and go, and this is the most unique law firm I've ever seen. We've enjoyed our time here and senior status, mentoring, taking clients to lunch or dinner. It gives you some real reason to get up in the morning. It's almost exciting to get up in the morning and come down here to see what's going on.

WB: He mentioned becoming a U.S. attorney; I suspect he was the youngest U.S. attorney this state has ever had. That is a very important position. That means that he is the top attorney in the northern third of the state. That says a lot for him.

Birmingham magazine: What kinds of things have you seen change through your years in the legal field?

AK: We've seen tremendous change. As I said, I was acting U.S. attorney when Autherine Lucy [the first black student to attend the University of Alabama] went to Alabama. We went through the agonies of racial strife that occurred. That of course has changed over the years.

WB: Yes, things have changed a lot in that area, for the better.

AK: Another thing is the advent of female lawyers and law students. In my class at Virginia, we started out with 225. There were three girls in the class. Now more than half [of students in] most of your law schools are women.

WB: I think in my class at the University of Alabama, we had four women, out of a class of 100 or so. But now that's changed. A lot of the ones in the top 10 percent are women. That's a good change. A lot of women become lawyers, and become fine lawyers.